Barcelona beats Zaragoza 4-1

Samuel Eto'o scored his 17th goal of the season to give FC Barcelona a 4-1 win over Zaragoza and extend its lead to seven points atop the Spanish League.

Reported by Indo-Asian News Service

Read Time: 2 mins

Madrid:

Samuel Eto'o scored his 17th goal of the season to give FC Barcelona a 4-1 win over Zaragoza and extend its lead to seven points atop the Spanish League.
The Cameroon international combined well with Brazil midfielder Ronaldinho to ensure Barcelona remained comfortably ahead of second-placed Real Madrid.
Barcelona's match began with Zaragoza's Paraguayan defender Delio Toledo scoring an own goal in the second minute, sending a back-pass with too much pace past goalkeeper Ruben Falcon.
Doubling the lead
Barcelona doubled the lead in the 30th minute from a move that appeared to be offside when Ronaldinho chipped an overhead pass to Eto'o, who timed a perfect cross to France winger Ludovic Giuly in front of the net.
Kickoff was delayed because referee Carmona Mendez could not get the electronic device that alerts him to an offside call by the linesman to work.
The lack of the device was highlighted in the 11th minute when Argentine midfielder Luciano Galletti broke through the Barcelona defense, was signaled offside by the linesman but Mendez initially did not see the flag.
The Romareda Stadium crowd roared at what was thought to be a penalty, but instead was belatedly declared offside.
Heading in
Ronaldinho set up a second in the 39th minute, again lobbing the ball over the defense and into the path of Eto'o, who controlled it and in turn lobbed the hapless Falcon.
Galletti tried to rally Zaragoza in the 63rd minute, taking control of the ball outside the penalty area, avoiding the Barcelona defense and scoring with a powerful right-footed strike.
Mexico fullback Rafael Marquez headed in from a corner taken by Xavi Hernandez in the 71st minute for Barcelona's final goal.
Deportivo looked comfortable at Valencia and led in the 45th minute when Argentina midfielder Lionel Scaloni raced forward to score from a ball stolen off Ruben Baraja.
Organized attack
After the interval, Valencia looked more organized in attack and Marco Di Vaio took an accurate pass from Francisco Perez Rufete and tapped it in 50th minute to equalize.
Deportivo rallied and midfielder Victor Sanchez showed a great first touch to set up the winning shot in the 73rd minute.
Veteran goalkeeper Santiago Canizares watched from the substitute's bench for the first time since he arrived from Real Madrid in 1998, replaced by Andres Palop. (AP)